The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given the green light for developing and manufacturing more than 500 Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV) that will be built domestically under the Make-I category, which ensures substantial government funding for the creation of prototypes.
The MoD has specified that the design and development of the FRCV Tank should incorporate a minimum of 50 percent indigenous content.
The FRCV will be based on a modular concept and will serve as the foundation for a range of tracked vehicles, including a main battle tank, per The Diplomat.
Additionally, it is expected to encompass various variants such as light-tracked vehicles, wheeled vehicles, bridge layers, trawl tanks, self-propelled howitzers, air defense guns, artillery observation posts, engineering reconnaissance vehicles, and armored ambulances.
The primary objective of this project is to replace the aging fleet of Russian-origin T-72 main battle tanks currently in service with the Indian Army. The transition is scheduled to begin in 2030.
The decision to develop the FRCV stems from the need to address the vulnerabilities of emerging asymmetric anti-tank technologies, including combat drones, top-attack weapons, and loitering munitions. These advancements have exposed the limitations of older tank models lacking advanced mobile protection systems.
FRCV Specifications And Weapons
The FRCV, manned by a four-member crew, will be equipped with a 1,500-horsepower engine and designed for easy transportability by aircraft, ship, rail, and road. Weighing 55 tons, the tank will possess a minimum operational range of 400 kilometers (248 miles) in cross-country or desert terrain and 500 kilometers (310 miles) on paved roads. Its projected service life will span between 35 and 45 years.
As for its weaponry, the tank’s main gun will be at least 120 mm in caliber and capable of firing three types of rounds: armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot, high explosive anti-tank, and high explosive rounds. Day or night, these rounds can be fired in static and dynamic modes.
The gun’s minimum firing ranges will be 2,500 meters (8,202 feet), 1,600 meters (5,249 feet), and 5,000 meters (16,404 feet) for direct fire and 10,000 meters (32,808 feet) for indirect fire. The tank’s main gun will also be equipped to launch anti-tank and anti-helicopter missiles, with a minimum range of 500 meters (1,640 feet).
In addition to the main gun, the combat vehicle will be equipped with secondary weapons. These include a coaxial machine gun with a minimum range of 1,800 meters (5,905 feet) and an anti-aircraft machine gun capable of engaging aerial targets at a minimum range of 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) and ground targets at 2,000 meters (6,561 feet).
The tank will feature an artificial intelligence-enabled fire control system that can switch between different modes based on the situation, including hunter-killer, killer-killer, and automatic target detection and tracking system modes. This fire control system will be integrated with the Battlefield Management System and Identification of Friend and Foe to provide a comprehensive fire control picture.
Protection System For FRCV
To counter evolving anti-tank capabilities, the MoD has specified including an Active Protection System (APS) for the tank, consisting of a dedicated Top Attack Protection System. The APS will employ soft and hard kill systems to detect and disrupt laser designation, ranging, missile launch, missile homing, and intercepting incoming projectiles.
Other protective measures will include explosive reactive armor, scalable non-explosive reactive armor, belly protection against improvised explosive devices, and mine blasts of at least 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of TNT.
FRCV should also include chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protection, instant fire detection and suppression systems, a missile warning system, and stealth and signature management to reduce acoustic, visual, infrared, thermal, and electromagnetic signatures by 50 percent within the observation range.